Miriam's upgrading seminar on 'Cardiometabolic and behavioural risk factors for raised blood pressure and raised blood sugar among young people with and without HIV in Uganda' is taking place on Thursday the 9th of April 2026. Zoom details Meeting ID: 843 2943 3547 Password: 829499 More details below about Miriam's PhD project : Introduction Africa has a dual burden of HIV and a rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and 

Congratulations to Marcello who passed his viva on Monday 23rd March 2026, with minor corrections. He is the first CREATE fellow to complete his fellowship and pass his viva. Further details about Marcello's research : Over one in four deaths from TB occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains prevalent and cardiac disease burden is rapidly increasing. The relationship between cardiac disease and pulmonary TB (PTB) remains poorly understood,

This is a website maintained by members of the CREATE programme, which spotlights new infection and global health research, and aims to provide a rolling feed of recent infection publications and links to useful resources.

Grant Murewanhema will be presenting at his upgrading seminar on Tuesday the 17th of March, at 15:00 GMT, on ' Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Point-of-Care Obstetric Ultrasonography for Fetal Growth Monitoring and Diagnosis of Fetal Growth Restriction in Zimbabwe' Zoom details : Zoom link Meeting ID: 891 8929 8146 Password: 044311  Adverse birth outcomes, including small vulnerable newborns, stillbirths and neonatal deaths remain significant reproductive health chal

We’re excited to share that a photograph Kate's project has been recognized in   The Lancet Group   Highlights 2025 Photo Competition.   As part of Kate’s project within KOSHESAI, older adults participated in a Photovoice project, using photography to share their experiences of healthy and unhealthy ageing. One participant, Rasha Chiota, created a striking image titled “Silenced”, showing his mouth taped shut. He reflected: “As   if   ageing   is   a   crime…   Decisions st

JayJay has successfully passed his PhD upgrading, marking an important milestone in his ethnographic doctoral research on adolescent wellbeing in rural Zimbabwe. Alongside this academic achievement, Jayjay has been actively engaging with national and international policymakers to strengthen the policy relevance of his work. He recently met with Regina Guthold, Technical Officer in the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing Department at the World Health Or

Jayne Ellis was awarded The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Early Career Researcher Award for 2025 on 'TB and cytomegalovirus co-pathogenicity amongst adults with cryptococcal meningitis: A prospective cohort study.' Click here for The Union website and more information about the award.

Congratulations to Ed Monk who was recently awarded an ESCMID Individual Research Grant of €20,000 for a side study nested in his PhD research, to investigate Staph aureus transmission alongside Strep.

The first fellows Zoom meeting of 2026 was held on Thursday the 22nd of January, with presentations from Claire Calderwood, and Jayne Ellis both of whom carried out their research on TB. They have both completed their PhDs and are now employed at Imperial College London, and LSHTM respectively in Academic Clinical Lecturer (ACL) posts. Claire Calderwood's presentation highlights Jayne Ellis' presentation highlights Fellows, and PMG members were in attendance

The Uganda Virus Research Institute held it's first quarterly PhD fellows meeting on Wednesday the 21st of January 2026. CREATE fellows Menya Abdmagidu, Racheal Alinaitwe, Ubaldo Bahemuka, Gila Hale, Jonathan Kitonsa, Ronald Kiyemba, Miriam Nakanwagi, and Claire Norcross were in attendance, along with other PhD colleagues. Follow this link for more information and to connect on LinkedIn with CREATE and the Uganda Virus Research Institute.

Marcello Scopazzini will be presenting at his pre-viva seminar on Friday the 23rd of January 2026, at 13:00 GMT. Zoom details : Link Meeting ID: 826 2501 0155 Password: 058111 Further details : Over one in four deaths from TB occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains prevalent and cardiac disease burden is rapidly increasing. The relationship between cardiac disease and pulmonary TB (PTB) remains poorly understood, and the impact of HIV co-

January 2026 brought PMG members and previous PhD fellows to Zimbabwe, for a visit to see current fellows and their work. Left - Joe Piper, Rashida Ferrand, Andy Prendergast, Jon Sturgeon, among others Left - Lydia Davidson, Kate Mattick, Maureen Tshuma, Gail Davey Right - Flora Dangwa, Maureen Tshuma, Lydia Davidson, Rashida Ferrand, Kate Mattick, Gail Davey, among others

Claire Calderwood received the Stephen Lawn TB-HIV Research Leadership Prize at The Union conference in Copenhagen in November 2025. Upon receiving her award at this year's UNION Conference in Denmark, Claire said: "I am deeply honoured to receive the Steve Lawn TB–HIV Research Leadership Prize and would like to express my sincere thanks to the Prize Steering Committee, the LSHTM TB Centre, The Union and the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre. I am grateful to my mentors and collaborato

Hannah Rickman gave a presentation on Tuesday the 6th of January 2026 on 'Tracking transmission to end TB: lessons from surveys of TB infection'. Listen to the seminar here

Flora Dangwa, CREATE fellow who started in November 2024, wrote a short piece on how pleased she was to win a prize for her presentation at the fellows meeting in November. 'Building a world where dignity at end of life is universal. I’m deeply honoured to have won the CREATE Lightning Presentation for my work on the “MUTSA Study,” exploring Compassionate Communities and Ubuntu in palliative care at the recent CREATE PhD Fellows meeting in London. This recognition is more tha

A new PhD fellowship opportunity is available, for a project on ' Molecular studies of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensive drug-resistant (XDR) TB in West Africa' Applicants should : Hold an MSc completed within the last 3 years Have experience with bacterial genomics, bioinformatics, and/or BSL-3 lab work (advantageous) Have strong English skills, French also a plus Click here for more details and how to apply Closing date is the 2nd of January, 16:00 GMT

At the end of November 2025 the CREATE PhD Programme welcomed its fellows, supervisors, PMG members, invited speakers and guests to a fellows meeting, held this year at The Wellcome Collection in London, UK.  Our meeting days were Wednesday the 26 th  and Friday the 27 th  and the fellows attended a Wellcome meeting for Wellcome Trust PhD fellows from Programmes around the nation.   27 fellows attended our meeting days in person and gave lightning and extended presentations,

JayJay will be presenting at his upgrading seminar: 'An ethnographic study of the meanings and experiences of wellbeing among adolescents in Zimbabwe: Tribhoo'' on Tuesday the 25th of November at 11:00 GMT. Please join over Zoom Meeting ID: 898 4527 1039 Password: 560733 Abstract: The concept of adolescent wellbeing has gained global attention, yet dominant frameworks often fail to capture the diverse lived experiences of adolescents in different cultural contexts. In Zimbabw

IMPALA trial PI Fiona Cresswell and two CREATE PhD fellows - Ubaldo Bahemuka, and Jonathan Kitonsa, will be presenting at a seminar on the 2nd of December 2025, 12:00 GMT. A recording of this seminar can be found here Zoom details below : https://lshtm.zoom.us/j/96976895077?pwd=RS9NV2lBT1FBdkR1bDVMdjk2LzRIdz09 Meeting ID: 969 7689 5077 Password: 483417

Ed Monk's PhD upgrading seminar on 'The transmissions dynamics of Streptococcus pyogenes within the classrooms. households and environment of primary school-aged children in The Gambia' will be taking place on Monday the 3rd of November 2025, at 13:00 GMT. Please join over Zoom Meeting ID: 874 0545 6592 Password: 174366 Abstract This PhD will investigate the transmission of Streptococcus pyogenes  (Strep A) in primary school-aged children and their household members in Bakau